


Professor Lightwood

by floydig



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood is a Softie, Alternate Universe - Human, Domestic Bliss, Established Relationship, Famous Magnus Bane, Fashion Designer Magnus Bane, Husbands, M/M, Married Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Professor Alec Lightwood, Quarantine, Zoom classes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27456625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floydig/pseuds/floydig
Summary: Who is Professor Lightwood,really?Hobbies, friends, interests? Asignificant otherperhaps?It’s the question on everyone’s minds....Professor Lightwood is notoriously close-lipped about his personal life. This only leads to more questions: How does he have so many Magnus Bane original handbags? And who’s the fluffy cat?Featuring zoom classes, nosy students, Chairman Meow, thestunningMagnus Bane, and lovable Professor Lightwood himself.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 18
Kudos: 504





	Professor Lightwood

**Author's Note:**

> There’s something about the professor trope that I just _love._ I had the idea for this, and I thought that it would fit the Alec/Magnus dynamic really well. I tried it out, and here we are now!

Professor Lightwood is, quite frankly, a hard-ass.

Becca Stanford heard these rumors of course, before registering for Lightwood’s online Food Chemistry class on Zoom. But she needs his specific course for her major!

It’s not that Professor Lightwood is a bad teacher. Quite the opposite in fact.

He’s thorough, knowledgeable, open to answering any questions (“... _on course material only, Miss Stanford. I don’t see how my relationship status is pertinent to the anomeric carbon’s role in forming a glycosidic bond.”)_

He even creates extra virtual office hours to accommodate students “during these difficult times.”

So yes, Becca supposes that in some regards, Professor Lightwood is a wonderful instructor. With that said, he’s just so... _closed off_. So _stern_.

He never strays from the lesson at hand. Not even when David Henderson tries to get him to share his diet and exercise routine. The man is built like a Greek god! He at least had to try.

Professor Lightwood is _extremely_ attractive after all. Thick, dark hair, expressive eyebrows, smooth olive skin, plump lips. Becca’s seen his broad, muscular torso, pronounced biceps, and veiny forearms when he stands up to stretch on occasion. _Fuck_.

So no one blames David for asking Dr. L about how he maintains his impressive physique.

...

“If anyone has any questions, feel free to put them in the chat or unmute yourself.”

“Er-yes, Professor. I was wondering: how do you uh-personally use the macromolecules in your diet? Any workouts that you find helpful in building your uh-physique?”

Professor Lightwood raises a perfectly sculpted, unimpressed brow, “Mr. Henderson. I spent the last forty minutes discussing the mechanisms of browning reactions. Your question is not relevant to the material of this class.”

“Damn it!”

Becca sees a corner of Professor Lightwood’s mouth twitch before it quickly goes back to his usual stoic expression. Huh. Must’ve been her imagination.

“Oh fu-I mean, my bad, Dr. L. Thought I was on mute.”

...

A few weeks into the semester, it’s become the question on everyone’s minds:

Who is Professor Lightwood, _really?_ Hobbies, friends, interests? A _significant other_ perhaps?

They’re all particularly interested in that last one; is it possible that uptight, strict, brilliant, hard-ass Dr. L is in a relationship?

Look, they’re all bored in quarantine, alright? And Dr. L is such an _enigma_. Maybe it’s also because he’s so young. Definitely late twenties to early thirties.

Someone in the class creates a discord server—that soon becomes a very _active_ discord server—and a google doc with predictions.

Google doesn’t help when they try searching his name. All that comes up is his university page, a couple professional pictures,his numerous research articles, and something about his philanthropist parents.

The students decide to start scrutinizing Professor Lightwood’s zoom background. Hopefully they’ll find some clues that provide insight into his personal life.

Most of the time, he sits in his home office. They can only see a small part of his wooden desk, broad shoulders, face, and a few books in the background.

Nothing there.

But sometimes he lectures in a different location. Becca’s not sure where, but some students on discord theorize that he’s sitting at his kitchen table. Here they can see a hint of a staircase and a rather massive, maroon couch in the background. And it doesn’t look like one of those stiff sofas that are only for show either. It appears to be overstuffed and rather cozy.

So now the students know that Professor Lightwood enjoys relaxing on the couch and has a two story house. Progress!

...

One afternoon, Professor Lightwood is lecturing in his home office when something unusual happens.

“Now in the chat, please answer this question: Is starch considered a reducing or nonreducing sugar? Give your reasoning.”

A white and gray blur of something — _fluffy?_ — appears on Professor Lightwood’s screen, covering part of his face. He blinks and shakes his head fondly, mouth twitching at the corners, “Chairman M—”

His voice cuts out as his mic and camera go off.

Damn it. He must’ve turned them off to deal with whatever that furry thing was.

The zoom chat lights up.

_[ Did anyone else see that or was it just me ]_

_[ yo where he go ]_

_[ I saw it too ]_

_[ same ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ guys ]_

_[ was that ]_

_[ a cat ]_

_[ ????? ]_

_[ omg ]_

_[ i think ur right becca ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ i got screenshots ]_

_[ putting them in the doc ]_

Professor Lightwood reappears on the screen. He’s got his typical no-nonsense, all business expression back on and hops right into it, “I apologize for that brief interruption. Anyway... Oh! I’m seeing some comments in the chat; let me see—”

He squints slightly as he reads the latest message:

_[ yo you got a cat Dr. L ]_

_[ omg David he’s not gonna tell you ]_

Professor Lightwood raises his brows ever so slightly. He sighs. Then begrudgingly, “Yes. We have a cat.”

He clears his throat, a bit more color in his cheeks, “Alright, moving on with polysaccharides...”

...

The class discord explodes.

_[ Holy fuck ]_

_[ he said “we” ]_

_[ fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ]_

_[ WE omg ]_

_[ dude i knew it, a guy that hot is NOT single]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ i bet he’s married]_

_[ nah he doesn’t seem like he’d settle down, probably drops em hella fast ]_

_[ no David! I swear he’s probably an ooey gooey marshmallow on the inside like all warm and fuzzy and soft with the person he loves. And a hard ass on the outside :’) ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ plus they have a cat. It’s gotta be semi-serious ]_

_[ well who the fuck is it then ]_

Sadly, this is the most exciting thing that happens until the middle of the semester.

...

Professor Lightwood is zoom-lecturing from his kitchen table when a few students notice something a bit... different about his background.

_[ hey Dr. L what’s all over ur couch ]_

The overstuffed maroon couch, usually so pristine and clean, is absolutely covered with something. Several somethings, in fact.

_[ they look like ]_

_[ purses maybe? ]_

“Any questions on what I’ve gone over so far?” Professor Lightwood widens his sharp blue eyes expectantly.

“Uh-yeah Dr. L; are those... purses on your couch? Like all over your couch? We’re all lookin’ at ‘em and we can’t figure out what they are.”

_Fucking David._

Professor Lightwood’s brows furrow, “What?”

He turns his head towards the couch and back. Becca swears she sees his lips curve up as he shakes his head— _fondly?_ —and mutters something under his breath that endearingly sounds like, _‘Agnus.’_

He’s got a small, almost indistinguishable smile on his face as he looks at his screen. Still he manages to take a deep breath and then sighs, “Mr. Henderson. I do not, for the life of me, understand why my couch is so fascinating to all of you.”

Is that a chuckle Becca hears? No, that can’t be right.

She spots—is that what she thinks it is?— a familiar looking silver angel on several of the purses. Surely it can’t be.

That’s the trademark symbol for _Magnus Bane’s_ work. Last she heard, he’s coming out with an exclusive line of handbags inspired by his husband, but nothing’s been released yet. What are they doing strewn all over Professor Lightwood’s couch?

Perhaps Becca’s getting ahead of herself. It is rather hard to see them super clearly on zoom.She’ll simply have to pull a David.

“That looks like _Magnus Bane’s_ logo, professor. Are you familiar with his work?”

Something extraordinary happens.

A lovely pink flush works its way up Professor Lightwood’s neck and to his cheeks. He smiles gently — _smiles!_ — and his blue eyes brighten, a warm, soft, “You could say that.”

_Adorable._

He looks down at his keyboard, smiling to himself.

“Um-professor?”

Professor Lightwood’s head snaps up, eyes alert, “Anyway, we still have a good chunk of time left. I’m going to start us off on lipids. I think you all will like this one,” gives a hesitant little grin.

He’s a _marshmallow,_ Becca knows it.

...

A week later, and it’s the chocolate that finally does it.

“Now let’s move on to the melting points of various lipids. And to demonstrate, let’s take a look at this bar of my favorite dark chocolate,” Professor Lightwood holds up a Hershey’s bar in his hand, lips curving up, blue eyes sparkling. He’s really... happy and easygoing today. 

It’s nice. It’s refreshing. It’s a bit weird.

_[ lmao did prof just share a personal fact ]_

_[ omg David ur right lol ]_

Professor Lightwood breaks the chocolate in half, a crisp _snap!_

He’s got a little lopsided smile on now, “See how that makes a nice, sharp sound? You can see that at room temperature, chocolate is at solid state. But when I take a bite—”

He pauses, popping the whole half chocolate bar in his mouth. Continues, muffled with his mouth full of candy, “Now it melts—” Professor Lightwood suppresses a growing smile, “...in my mouth!”

Can someone get Becca a graham cracker for this s’more?

Instead of taking a minute to chew and swallow the candy like a normal person, Professor Lightwood doesn’t seem to want to waste any time. He attempts— _attempts_ —to continue his lecture, melty chocolate in mouth and all, “And this shows—”

He stops and starts... _Giggling? Laughing?_ “Oh-um-maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” His bright blue eyes crinkle at the corners as he laughs softly.

Professor Lightwood’s laugh is a rather lovely sound: a light tinkle that’s just fucking _happy,_ man.

_[wow he really do be laughing tho ]_

_[ lmao David ]_

Suddenly a new voice enters on Professor Lightwood’s end. A warm, pleasant, masculine voice, that is.

“Alexander, darling? What are you laughing at?”

Professor Lightwood finishes the chocolate and straightens up in his seat. He smiles slightly, cheeks turning a nice shade of pink.

A tanned, lean muscled, _gorgeous_ man comes into view as he walks over to where Professor Lightwood sits. He’s simply got a navy blue towel wrapped around his slender waist. Droplets of water drip off his black hair and splay across his nicely sculpted chest. 

Dude looks vaguely familiar, actually. Becca can’t quite put her finger on it.

The beautiful mysterious newcomer reaches a flushed Professor Lightwood and stands behind him. He leans down a bit, placing a hand on each of the professor’s shoulders, rubbing firmly. Murmurs, “Oh you feel a bit tense.”

Professor Lightwood’s eyes flutter shut as he _melts_ into the other man’s touch.

The unknown man then peers curiously at the laptop screen, eyes warm, smiling fondly, “I love hearing you laugh, Alexander.If I had known you were finished teaching for today, I would have asked you to join me in the shower.”

Professor Lightwood opens his mouth to respond, then closes it, blue eyes both wide and endeared as he looks up at the other man.

The man smiles gently at their professor, “I’ll take care of you, darling.” He bends down even closer and begins placing slow, soft kisses on Professor Lightwood’s neck.

Professor Lightwood seems to have forgotten that his students are there. _Watching. Listening._

His eyes flutter shut once again as he tilts his neck to the side, letting out a shuddery, relaxed sigh.

The other man chuckles and continues pressing his lips along Professor Lightwood’s neck.

_[ should we... say something ? ]_

_[ uh yeah ]_

_[ no i want to watch! ]_

_[ that’s too far becca omg ]_

“Uh-Professor? You know we can see and hear you, right?”

His eyes flash open and he straightens up in his chair.

The beautiful, kind, seductive man pauses his ministrations, brows furrowed as he turns to look at the laptop screen.

Professor Lightwood clears his throat, flushed, “Sorry about that, everyone. I seem to have gotten a little... distracted.”

_[ its ok dr. L ]_

_[ id be distracted too ]_

The stunning mysterious man shifts slightly, placing both hands on Professor Lightwood’s right shoulder. He leans in close and looks at the laptop screen. After a moment, his eyes dawn with understanding and his lips twitch up as he attempts to stifle a laugh.

Professor Lightwood glances at him, attempting—and failing—to suppress a fond smile. His blue eyes shine with amusement, “Lucky I’m tenured. Trying to get me fired, aren’t you?”

 _Who is this and what has he done with uptight, no-nonsense_ _Professor Lightwood?_

The beautiful, towel-clad man smirks, “What can I say? I want you all to myself, darling.”

He turns his head back to the webcam, sobering up a bit as he addresses the students, “In all seriousness, I do apologize for disrupting your class, lovelies. I thought Alexander here had finished up early. My mistake.”

_[ no worries! you can disrupt class anytime ;) !! ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

“Well that wouldn’t be very productive now, would it?” The man’s lips curve up. He raises a brow as he looks at Professor Lightwood, a question clear in his eyes.

The professor nods and smiles reassuringly. Then back to the class, “As many of you know, I’m very private about my personal life. That said, I’ve been thinking lately that it could be nice for you all to learn more about me. I’m going to work on that. So...”

He pauses, a small grin on his face as he gestures to the man beside him, “This is my husband, Magnus. We’ve been together for nine years, married for seven.”

He chuckles sheepishly, “This isn’t exactly how I planned on introducing him to you, but life is unpredictable. Like the superoxide ion.”

His husband—Magnus— rolls his eyes fondly and groans, “ _God,_ you're a nerd. I love it.”

_Wait._

Magnus... As in Magnus _Bane?_

World renown fashion designer _Magnus Bane?_

Holy fuck. That’s why he looks so familiar. 

“Um-sir? Are you Magnus _Bane?_ ”

Magnus smiles lightly, eyes sparkling, “Yes I am, darling. Now how about this: anyone who wants a handbag, private message your address in the chat and we’ll send you one. Free of charge. I know you all work so _hard_. And Alexander here is _not_ an easy professor. He’ll quiz you on anything and everything to make sure you know it all. I remember when he helped me prepare for the GED.”

Professor Lightwood smiles all lopsided as he watches Magnus with stars in his eyes, “I’m tough because I care.”

_[ omg thank you so much! ]_

_[ur both amazing! ]_

_[ love you both! ]_

_[ so sweet! ]_

_[ ur a great professor, Dr. L !! ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

_[ ^ ]_

“Thank you, everyone. I’m ending class early today to give you all a break. Remember to read up on saturated and unsaturated fats.”

_Holy fucking shit._

* * *

Alec closes his laptop and stands up to stretch. He turns to Magnus, chuckling, “That went well.”

Magnus’ eyes are fixated on the sliver of smooth olive skin that’s peaking out from where Alec’s black t-shirt rides up, “Mmm yes I think so.”

Alec watches Magnus, amused, “You do?”

Magnus blinks a couple times and meets Alec’s eyes, “Oh! Sorry Alexander. I got a bit...”

He trails off and smirks, “...Distracted.”

Magnus sobers slightly, “I am sorry, darling; I stepped out of the shower and heard your wonderful laugh and I simply _had_ to come see what was so amusing. I didn’t know you were in class. I hope this won’t cause any problems for you.”

More of that warm, gentle laughter that Magnus knows and loves all too well.

Alec moves closer and runs a large, warm hand through Magnus’ damp hair, “Showing my students what a healthy, loving marriage looks like? Seems pretty good in my book.”

Magnus smiles softly.

Alec grins sheepishly at Magnus, “I think they were starting to see me as an emotionless robot. I get so caught up in wanting them to understand all the food chemistry concepts that I forget to stop and take a minute to check in.”

Magnus laughs lightly, “It’s good to find that balance, darling.”

Alec locks eyes with Magnus, “You know, I also realized that... growing up, neither of us had good examples of healthy, caring, dedicated relationships. If... If I can give them even a _glimpse_ of what that’s supposed to look like, I want to. Even if sharing the more personal, emotional side of me is a little outside my comfort zone.”

Magnus reaches out to wrap his slender hand around Alec’s waist, rubbing his thumb up and down and holding him close, “I think you’re doing an amazing job. At all of it. Your students clearly _adore_ you. I’m so incredibly proud of you, Alexander.”

Alec grins widely and leans in, burying his face into the crook between Magnus’ neck and shoulder. A muffled, “I love you.”

Magnus chuckles, eyes sparking in amusement. He takes his free hand and gently scratches Alec’s scalp.

Alec lets out a relaxed sigh, “That feels _really nice._ ”

After a moment, he lifts his head up, brows furrowing, “I think we need to feed Chairman.”

Magnus sighs, “Oh, I think you're right about that.”

They reluctantly part.

Alec’s blue eyes spark and his lips curve up, “Oh! How about I feed him, you make the martinis, then we take this over to the couch? We can heat up some of that leftover lasagna from last night too.”

They both glance over at their cozy, inviting, overstuffed maroon couch.

Magnus smiles, “That sounds perfect, darling.”

**...**

_[ told you he was an ooey gooey marshmallow on the inside ]_

**Author's Note:**

> You ever write a fic because there’s one specific scene in particular that you just _have_ to write? Yeah, me too.
> 
> I think I’ll write some more Alec/Magnus in the future because I had such a fun time writing this one!
> 
> Come say hi to me on [tumblr](http://floydig.tumblr.com/) if you want xx


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